


Hustling

by seven (sevenpoints)



Series: Hustling [1]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Prostitution, References to Child Abuse, implied child prostitution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-04
Updated: 2012-10-04
Packaged: 2017-11-15 14:30:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/528307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sevenpoints/pseuds/seven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reboot Mirrorverse AU.  Leonard is a hustler, and Jim wants in on the action.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hustling

  
  
  
Med school wasn't gonna pay for itself. This was the refrain that Leonard chanted to himself every single evening while he heaved himself out of bed and put on his...work uniform.  
  
The jeans, a little loose for easy-on easy-off, but fitted through the hips so the perverts on the street could see what he had to offer. Then a blue shirt, neatly cuffed and made of low maintenance synthetic fibers that stood up well to being scalded clean the moment he got home, no matter how exhausted or wrecked he was after a night on the street.  
  
It was rough. It had been rough for years, ever since he left home at fourteen to escape his father and his laser scalpels. The good doctor would be happy to know that his son planned to follow in his footsteps, but Leonard didn't need to count his scars to know that there was no way he could ever go back.  
  
 _Look, son, you've cut yourself._  
  
No, sir, please--  
  
Let me clean that up for you. Damn it, boy, hold still!  
  
Please...please dad I'm fine...no!  
  
He shuddered the memory away. It didn't matter. The dermal regenerator had done its job well, and it was only the finicky customers who ever noticed the feathery traces of scar tissue fanned over his back, chest, belly, legs. Now at eighteen he was finally hairy enough that they barely showed.  
  
It didn't look like the kid sizing him up had noticed, anyway. Real young, with an angel face that contrasted sharply with the grit ground into his skin. No contusions, so he didn't fall, and as Leonard took in the ratty clothes he guessed that it had been a long time since he last slept in a bed.  
  
"Kid, unless you've got a lot of credits hidden in those rags, you've come to the wrong place. Go home to your mother."  
  
"My mother's not home," came the unsurprising reply, "but my stepdad is."  
  
And damn, that said it all, didn't it? "So whaddaya want?"  
  
"I need a job."  
  
Leonard snorted and gave the kid a second look. He was young, so still skinny, with too many scars buried in dirt, but Leonard could see the blue of his eyes even in the shitty light. Cleaned up, he could pass for beautiful, and there were enough perverts around these parts that he could probably wind up doing steady trade.  
  
There were any number of reasons why he should send the kid away. First and foremost, he represented competition, and lots of it. Leonard had beat off another hustler to claim this spot, at an intersection with few lights but heavy foot traffic, and he felt perversely territorial about it. Secondly, this kid was maybe even younger than he had been when he started, and he was all too aware of how fucked in the head you got from all the johns and their heavy hands.  
  
Thing was, he also knew how desperate you had to be before you even considered street work. The kid in front of him was standing tall, his face determined, but Leonard didn't miss the slight sway to his stance, the way those baby blues swam in and out of focus. He was exhausted, and filthy, and probably starving. Fall had already blown in with heavy rains, and Leonard was willing to bet his sore, tired ass that the kid had nowhere to stay.  
  
Oh what the hell. He was four thousand credits shy of tuition, and this kid could rake in twice that over the course of a few weeks. Leonard would see to it that he got a cut.  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
The kid hesitated. Aside from his rags, his name was the only thing he had left to lose.  
  
"I'm James."  
  
Leonard nodded grimly. "We'll call you Jimmy."  
  
+++  
  
Of course, Leonard wasn’t about to actually let anyone fuck the kid.  
  
Jim resented him for it. Where before Leonard had an apartment, only slightly bigger than a shoebox but clean and warm, they now had a car, some piece of shit with a broken media player. Where before there had been steady trade, buffered by a handful of regulars, there were now carefully chosen marks, men with more credits than brains who were itching to get their hands on a piece as sweet and innocent as Jim could be, or at least pretend to be.  
  
It was simple, really. They’d arrive in a new town, ask a few questions in a few unsavory bars, and the next thing Jim knew he was on a street corner, introducing himself as Jimmy and smiling bright to outshine his scars. The kid could be blinding, all blue eyes and playful energy, and none of the marks could resist the opportunity to ride that childish enthusiasm until it broke.  
  
Like this guy, resplendent in a suit that might have been actual silk, spun by worms instead of machines. He’d caught their attention the day before, their screening day when they cased the town and picked the best spot to set the trap. Clean, healthy, and a member of the idle rich, so secure he didn’t have to get his own hands dirty, he had people to do the literal and figurative backstabbing for him.  
  
Jimmy was reeling him in now, his fixed smile lapsing into a bashful grin as he peeked up at the man, suddenly shy. It was only a couple of seconds before he was jerking his head towards the alley around the corner, taking a single step before halting and slipping his hand out of his pocket to twine awkwardly with the mark’s, his smile faltering as his eyes went wide, as if startled at his own impulsiveness.  
  
Leonard had taught him well.  
  
They turned down the alley and Leonard made his move, striding out of the shadows to come up behind them, wooden baton held tight in his fist. He reached them just as the mark laid one manicured hand on Jimmy’s cheek.  
  
“ _I want you to call me_ ‘ _daddy_.’”  
  
A swift rap to his parietal bone had the mark crumpling, neatly unconscious. He’d barely hit the ground before Jim was on him, deft hands opening his jacket to pull out a wallet with two thousand credits inside.  
  
“Jesus,” Jim breathed. “Good mark.”  
  
Leonard snorted. “Sick bastard.”  
  
“HEY.” The shout came from the mouth of the alley and they both turned to see a burly bodyguard. “What have you done to Mister—”  
  
They didn’t stick around to hear the rest. Leonard snapped “Go, kid!” and then they were running, hard and fast towards the narrow back exit, the reason Leonard had picked this alley in the first place. He grabbed the kid’s hand and hauled, not slowing for a second until they reached their car halfway down the block. The bodyguard hadn’t even made it onto the street before they were screeching around the corner, Leonard keeping the car from flipping by some miracle.  
  
“Fuck this _bullshit_ , Leo!” Jim cracked his window to toss out the wallet, minus the creds. “That guy could have set us up for life.”  
  
Leonard spared him one tired glare before turning his attention back to the road. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Jim.”  
  
“You keep saying that. You never fucking listen. _I know_ , okay? I’ve done it before.”  
  
“And what, you’re here right now because you liked it so much? If you thought you could cut it, you’d still be home.” Wherever the hell that was.  
  
He didn’t have to glance over to see the kid’s face darken. “That was different.”  
  
“It really wasn’t. Look, when you’re eighteen you can bend over and take it from whoever you want, I won’t fucking care. For now, you’re gonna shut your damn mouth until I get us away from Mister Whoever’s security detail.”  
  
“Mister Whoever was a _plum_. He would have given me anything I asked for, I could tell. He would have liked you too, I bet.”  
  
“Yeah, maybe, or maybe he would have tossed you to his goons when he finished, right after he had me killed. That’s a chance I’d rather not take, if it’s all the same to you.”  
  
Jim sighed. “Pussy.”  
  
“I can live with that. Now shut up.”  
  
Jim actually obeyed for once, lapsing into sullen silence, and by the time Leonard pulled onto the highway and put half a town between them and potential enslavement and/or assassination, the kid was fast asleep.  
  
He didn’t wake until they’d reached the next town after that and Leonard was pulling up at a hotel, nothing like five stars but nice enough that there wouldn’t be condom dispensers in the hallways. His small face was so punchy and tired that Leonard considered carrying him inside, but he knew he’d probably get an elbow to the balls if he tried to treat Jim like the child he was. He compromised by keeping a hand on the back of his neck as they headed up to their room, steering him straight when sleepiness sent him stumbling into walls.  
  
There. The room, and the code for the door. One bed when they’d paid for two, but Jim’s exhaustion was catching and it was all Leonard could do to shove Jim down on one side before walking around to the other and collapsing.  
  
+++  
  
He woke up hard, which wasn’t surprising.  
  
He also woke up to a mouth on his cock, which _was_ surprising, but it had been months since the last time anyone had given his poor neglected dick some attention so he went with it, sure this was a dream as he slid in and out of wakefulness.  
  
It wasn’t until he realized who that mouth had to belong to that he snapped to sudden, searing consciousness.  
  
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, kid?!”  
  
He ripped off the covers to reveal Jim, eyes glaring with determination from where he’d settled between Leonard’s thighs. He bucked and shoved and finally got the kid off him before flinging himself out of bed, horror and nausea killing his erection in seconds. He didn’t know how old the kid was, since Jim always lied when he asked, but he knew the answer was _not old enough, god damn it_.  
  
On the bed, Jim shrugged. “You were into it.”  
  
“Yeah that’s pretty obvious,” Leonard retorted, gesturing at his limp dick before yanking his pants back up. “If you ever try something like that again I swear to God, I’m gonna leave you by the side of the road.”  
  
“I was just proving my point! I’m _good_ at this shit, Leo!”  
  
“But you shouldn’t be, God damn it, that’s _my_ point! Look, kid, whatever your step dad did to you, it was _wrong_ , do you hear me? You shouldn’t know how to suck dick, and you shouldn’t know how to fuck, and you definitely shouldn’t be asking me to let you do either for money!” Fuck! Leonard thought again of how Jim had looked, his mouth stretched wide around his—fuck. FUCK. He lurched, knocking over a chair in his haste to get to the bathroom where he collapsed, heaving bile into the toilet, wishing he could puke that image right out of his head.  
  
He washed his mouth out six times before venturing back into the room. The kid was still glowering on the bed, but when Leonard entered he looked up, and licked his lips.  
  
He shuddered. “Not gonna work, so knock it off. Look.” He set the chair upright and sat in it, hunched over with his head in his hands. “We can’t do this anymore.”  
  
Jim burst with frustration. “That’s what I’m saying! If you would just let me set us up—”  
  
“Shut up.” Leonard didn’t mean for his voice to sound so raw, but the kid put a sock in it so he didn’t bother to clear his throat. “Here’s what’s gonna happen.” He rubbed his face, disbelieving what he was about to say, then said it anyway. “You’re gonna go to school.”  
  
Jim blanched. “Uh, no, I’m not.”  
  
“Yes, you are. We’re gonna take the money, and we’re gonna put you in a private school, somewhere suburban and safe where you can be somebody else’s headache for a while.”  
  
“But Leo…most of the money is yours, man.”  
  
Leonard’s patience was at an end. “Don’t you think I know that? I earned that money over four years of back alley fucks from guys who make my guts boil, which means that if I give it to you and you fuck me over by flunking out or any stupid shit like that, I’m gonna have to kill you, you hear me? Are you fucking listening?”  
  
He snapped his head up out of his hands and froze. Jim was white faced and still with shock.  
  
He had never looked younger.  
  
“But, med school! You’re gonna be a doctor, you can put me in school then if you want—”  
  
“I’m still gonna be a doctor, kid. I just have to do it a little differently.” He straightened in the chair, shoulders back, jaw square. “You’re going to school. I’m gonna enlist.”  
  
“What? _Starfleet?_ ” That got Jim off the bed and pacing, head shaking, denial written in his every move. “Leo, you can’t. Half the cadets die in their first year, and even if they make you an officer…you just can’t, man. I don’t have to go to school. I’ll do whatever you say, I promise. I’ll never…I’ll be good, okay? Leo?”  
  
He shook his head. “It’s too late for that, kid. God, I should have said this weeks ago. This was so stupid. We’ve been lucky so far, but any one of those guys could have pulled you into a car and…” He couldn’t say it, neither of them could, which was ironic considering “it” was what they were selling. Had been selling. “You shouldn’t have to be around guys like that. Hell, you shouldn’t be around a guy like _me_ , and that’s why you’re going to school, understand? We’ll finesse the issue of ID and legal guardians by paying for the first year up front, and once you’re settled, I’ll find a recruitment station. Don’t argue with me, kid. This is how it’s gonna be.”  
  
Jim just stared at him helplessly. He wasn’t about to dissolve into histrionics about how Leonard was abandoning him, even if it felt that way, because he’d just handed him his vital organs on a silver platter and he wouldn’t do Leo the dishonor of rejecting it. Them. This gift.  
  
Leonard coughed and looked away. “I’ll check up on you. We’ll still have vacations at about the same time. First, though, we gotta get the fuck away from here, just in case one of those marks was a local superintendent or some twisted shit like that. There’s an academy in San Francisco, we can go there. Should be far enough.” His mind was racing and he forced it towards logistics and travel itineraries, places they could stop, kilometers they could travel in a day, cost of food per week when he wouldn’t have time to work, anything that wasn’t a vision of pristine blue scrubs getting swallowed in a sea of cadet red.  
  
Jim interrupted the downward spiral. “I’ll make this up to you, Leo. I promise.”  
  
He forced a smile. Kids. Always making promises they can’t keep. “Don’t worry about me, Jimmy. As long as I’ve got my bones, I’ve got everything I need.”  
  
+++  
  
It worked. They made it work. The dean at the Bay Area Military Academy tripped over himself to accept Leonard’s money, especially once Jim breezed his way through their aptitude tests, getting himself placed in ninth grade despite his age. Leonard hadn’t wanted to enroll him there, having pictured Jim somewhere boring and civilian where none of the courses involved the words “weapons training,” but Jim had been adamant, insisting that he had to be ready to enlist or else they’d never see each other again once Leonard graduated. Leonard wasn’t sure that was a bad thing when he thought about the kind of men he’d exposed Jim to, but he was ready to agree to anything if it kept Jim safe, at a school with a good meal plan and a dean already in his corner.  
  
He kept his word for the first two semesters, visiting Jim at fall, winter, spring, and summer break. The money didn’t stretch to cover an apartment, so they both continued to live in their dorms, meeting only during the day. Leonard played the paternal role awkwardly, asking Jim about the courses and sports teams he’d signed up for, unsurprised to learn that the kid was at the top of his class, and swallowed his own complaints. At Starfleet he wasn’t anybody’s pet and that made life difficult, especially when the older students got wind of the sad story he slurred to some girl over a glass of Andorian ale. Taking dick for money had been a misery, and taking it for nothing at all was almost more than he could stand, but he gutted it out, knowing it was a price that everyone had to pay.  
  
When Jim told him he was going to start taking summer courses it was almost a relief. Every minute he spent with the kid was a concerted effort to push away their past like a bad dream, like perfect grades and a position in the starting line up could make up for child abuse and prostitution. It was an effort Leonard could live without, so once he was sure that the dean’s favor would keep Jim away from the worst of his peers, he let himself pull back until he was out of Jim’s life altogether.  
  
Things were easier then. After his first year the medical track didn’t leave him a whole lot of time to think or even breathe as he crammed an entire universe’s worth of biology into his head. This hadn’t been his intention—he’d wanted to be a Terran doctor, with human patients, not a Starfleet doctor who never knew what he’d be treating, or where his patients would find him.  
  
Still, it was a welcome challenge, a chance to replace some of the memories in his head with information that was actually worth knowing. He wasn’t bad at this, he found, and by his third year he had a kind of aura about him, notoriety as a rising star that provided some protection, enough that he could return the dermal regenerator he’d stolen after that first semester.  
  
It wasn’t enough to buy him friends, but that was fine by Leonard. Friends just made you a bigger target, especially if they put you in a position of power. He’d had enough excitement in his life already, so he was happy at the thought of a post on whatever third rate cruiser would take him once he graduated.  
  
It was almost by accident that he finished at the top of his class. He’d worked his ass off, sure, but he wasn’t in the habit of tracking his classmates’ progress, and he was so unpopular that he’d never really tripped anyone’s radar as a competitor to watch. His commencement speech was a nightmare that he buried in the back of his mind with his other demons, but his assignment to the Empire’s flagship was a nightmare he would have to live with for the rest of his life.  
  
+++  
  
The entire crew was buzzing about their new captain, but Leonard was a little distracted. He had a Caitian with rope burns and severe anal tearing and he was running through the crew roster, wondering who among them had a fur fetish. Besides, it didn’t matter. Pike’s autopsy report listed anaphylactic shock as the COD, but everyone knew that was code for “death by poisoning, and by someone with enough clout to keep their name out of the docs.” Whoever their new captain was, he was sure to be a bastard, just like every other officer in Starfleet.  
  
“This is the Med Bay, Captain, and just over there is our Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Leonard McCoy.”  
  
“I believe he’s _my_ Chief Medical Officer.”  
  
“Yes, sir.”  
  
Speak of the devil. Leonard froze where he stood, not thrilled by the words of possession but willing to ignore them in order to parse that voice, strange and impossibly familiar all at once.  
  
He looked up, his eyes refusing to believe what they saw, but it wasn’t until he zeroed in on the scars that he knew for sure.  
  
“ _Kid?_ You’re the captain?” His god damn commanding officer?  
  
“I never told you my last name.” Jim straightened, a smirk twisting his lips. “It’s Kirk.”  
  
“Kirk. James Kirk.” Leonard’s eyes widened. “Son of George and Winona Kirk?”  
  
“The very same.”  
  
“The hell you are, you little liar! All this time and you never told me?” He raked his eyes over him. They were eye to eye, probably within ten pounds of each other in weight, and he just couldn’t reconcile the skinny street rat he’d known with the man standing before him in command gold. “I don’t believe it.”  
  
“‘I don’t believe it, _sir_.’”  
  
“Oh, hell.” He glared, but Jim’s face hardened, and Leonard knew he wasn’t dealing with the child he’d known. “Fine. Sir.” The honorific rankled and he set his jaw, doing his best not to scowl and probably failing spectacularly.  
  
“Haven’t you wondered?” Jim gestured expansively, indicating the sparkling medical bay with its state of the art equipment. “You got here on merit, sure, but there are plenty of doctors in Starfleet with lower test scores but better connections, and according to your dossier you didn’t kill a single one of them.”  
  
The implication had Leonard’s mind reeling and he muttered his first thought just to buy some time. “I figured the universe owed me one.”  
  
“No,” Jim replied. “I owed you one.”  
  
He gaped. It was too much to process, too hard to accept that that kid off the street was now James Tiberius Kirk, captain of the ISS Enterprise. Thanks were in order, but the words bottled up in his throat so he just jerked his head in what he hoped would be interpreted as a polite nod and made his escape, heading for his office, the CMO office that Jim had secured for him.  
  
“Oh, and Bones?”  
  
Leonard stopped, distant memory making him recognize the word as a name, his name.  
  
He turned back to see the kid smiling, bright enough to outshine his scars. “Buckle up.”


End file.
